Our fifth annual Baltimore Fishbowl Guide to Independent Schools releases to the public today. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share on Baltimore Fishbowl stories you’ll find in the guide about the students, teachers, administrators, and programs that make up the independent school community. Check out the digital version above, and read our Notes from the Editor, below, to learn more about this year’s guide.
Notes from the Editor
By Muffy Fenwick, Editor
Dear Readers, It is hard to believe that this year’s Guide to Baltimore Independent Schools marks our fifth edition. We continue to discover innovative ideas in and out of the classroom, meet new leaders at the helm, and celebrate the vibrant students who make their schools so special. However, this year, every independent school, both here in Baltimore and across the nation, faced unprecedented challenges. In these pages, you will learn how the global pandemic has both changed the way schools are thinking about traditional curriculum practices and accelerating multi-media initiatives. An emphasis on wellness has dominated many of these discussions and we explore how independent schools are supporting the whole child- not just academically but socially and emotionally as well.
In tandem with these efforts, schools continue to develop new programs to promote a 21st-century education for their students. Programs from STEAM, outdoor education, service learning to entrepreneurship abound. Longtime school leaders collaborate with newer administrators to create robust programs and address the everchanging climate of our world.
As always, at the heart of all of this work, is the students: the scholars, the athletes, the thespians, the artists and the inventors. They have shouldered the previous spring’s global pandemic with its sudden pivot to online learning and elimination of spring rites and yet still look to the coming year with enthusiasm and determination. Hear from them how, despite everything, they remain committed to their schools and define what makes each one unique. As always, we hope the guide will give you a snapshot of the wealth of school options we have in and around Baltimore. As a city, we are so fortunate to offer so many choices, many of which are tailormade for your child. Take the time to explore each one then dig further, using the directory resource at the back of the guide, to schedule a tour or attend an open house. As we have learned, nothing beats an on-campus visit to truly experience the flavor of a school firsthand.
